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Neurax Worm
The Neurax Worm is a plague type that appeared in Mutation 3 or version 1.3 (August 30, 2012). In-game Description Manipulative organism that burrows into the brain. Description The Neurax Worm is a special disease type, which has been awakened from its millenia-long slumber by human activity. Its defining trait is the ability to burrow into the host's brain and mentally control them to the plague's demand. You can unlock it by purchasing it for $1.99USD or by beating all disease types on brutal. The Interface of the Neurax Worm shows a small worm with a head of what somewhat resembles a snake. As the severity of the disease increase the neural brances will spread from the worm's mouth across the brain, until it has entirely encompass the brain (to represent the worm having complete control of it's host). Neurax Worm's unique colour is golden orange and is the most distinctive colour of the current available plagues. Neurax Worm Theme Special Traits 'Transmission' The Neurax Worm begins with three unique transmission options: Concertina Locomotion, Eggs, and Genetic Swap. Concertina Locomotion and then Undulatory Locomotion must be taken before Air and Water transmission is unlocked, Eggs must be taken to give the player access to Birds, Insects, and Rodents, while Genetic Swap branches into an entirely unique set of transmissions. The Genetic Swap transmission allows the player to then choose from Mutative Regeneration (increasing chances of mutation) or Corpse Feeder (increasing infectivity where corpses are present). Both have two stages. Air 3 Waxy membranes allow survival in air conditioning vents and other arid locations. Increased infectivity, especially in rich and hot countries Air 2 Carapace becomes lighter, increasing infectivity, especially in arid conditions and planes Air 1 Worm can dehydrate to become lighter, allowing them to float on wind, increasing infectivity, especially in arid conditions and planes Undulatory Locomotion Ability to propagate flexural waves along the length of worm allows an increase in speed and range outside host, increasing infectiousness Concertina Locomotion Ability to grip with portions of the body while pulling/pushing other sections allows faster movement outside host, increasing infectivity Water 1 Worm skin becomes highly vascularised allowing absorption of oxygen, survival and transmission in water. Water 2 Worms develop a more flexible cell membrane, which allows them to survive at a range of depths Water 3 Worm eggs gain ability to thrive in unsanitised water, greatly increasing infectivity especially in poor countries Eggs 2 Eggs hatch when they experience an increase in warmth, likely due to nearby human activity, greatly increasing infection Eggs 1 The Neurax worm produces eggs that are ejected from the host brain in the thousands, increasing infectiousness Bird 1 Worms become a food source for birds, but many survive in the digestive tract, allowing increased transmission Bird 2 Worms develop the ability to breed in the bird's digestive tract, allowing greater distribution and transmission Insect 1 Worm eggs attach themselves to insects, causing increased infectiousness, especially in hot climates Insect 2 Attaching to a greater range of insects allows a large increase in infection, especially in hot climates Rodent 1 Worm eggs attach themselves to the fur of rats, which increases their infectiousness, especially in urban environments Rodent 2 Worm eggs secrete neurochemical that drives rats to attack humans, increasing infectivity, especially in urban environments Genetic Swap Worms able to exchange genetic material inside host body, increasing chance of mutation Mutative Regeneration 1 Fragmented RNA strands causes frequent replication errors when regenerating and an increased chance of mutation Mutative Regeneration 2 Degradation of the nuclear membrane makes the worm highly prone to mutation Corpse Feeder 1 Worms drawn to corpses, increasing infectivity when corpses present Corpse Feeder 2 Worms undergo feeding frenzy in corpses, significantly increasing infectivity when corpses present 'Symptoms' The Neurax Worm gives the player two options to complete the game: the first, as usual, is to simply wipe out humanity. This plague is unique in that its symptoms do not kill people directly, rather they must be evolved to change the mental state of the host to one of aggression (thus killing others) or depression (thus killing themselves). The other way to complete this plague type is to have the worms enslave their hosts. Taking the symptom of 'Transcendence' while all humans are infected will win the game, as all of humanity will now worship the worms as gods and masters and carry out their will without hesitation. Transcendence is built up to by taking symptoms that make the hosts more comfortable with the worm, which will lead to ones causing them to trust and love the worm, and finally will end with them becoming slaves to the worm. Neural Breach Breach the blood/brain barrier to allow access to the host brain. Causes dystonia - rapid eye blinking Cerebral Tendrils Tendril production in the cerebral cavities begins. Enables increased control over host brain Frontal Mesh Tendrils mesh with frontal lobe - the conscious thought centre - and gain ability to mentally manipulate host Perceptive Jolt Tendrils increase brain pressure, resulting in fever which disrupts host priorities and decision making Perceptive Shift Worm grows to significantly increase intracranial pressure, severely disrupting host risk/reward analysis, resulting in risky, unsafe and impulsive decisions Cognitive Scrambling Electrical activity from tendrils causes mild seizures which completely scramble host decision making abilities Occipital Mesh Tendrils mesh with occipital lobe - the visual processing centre. Hosts less likely to notice worm infections Akinetopsia Host struggles to perceive motion making them more likely to collide with others / objects Hallucinations Occipital lesions created, causing severe hallucinations. Lack of awareness increases transmission chance as well as risk of injury Schizophrenia Enflamed dopamine receptors fragment mental processes and increase infectivity. Can cause fatal fevers Blindness Primary visual cortex disconnected causing blindness. Significantly reduces awareness and causes fatal accidents Immaturity Hormone production altered which causes reduction in maturity. Lower levels of hygiene increase infection Mania Excess serotonin production triggered. Manic episodes lead to increased contact with others and inability to focus Aggression Hypothalamic tap causes irrational hatred and violence, especially towards authorities and uninfected Acute Encephalitis Multiple inflammatory lesions in the brain triggered. Causes neurological damage resulting in death Obsession Severe damage to orbital cortex triggers OCD - forcing host to obsess over a specific worm related task Insanity Neuropathic manipulation causes severe emotional and behavioral abnormalities, increasing infectivity. Can be fatal Confusion Dopamine production stimulated to cause bouts of confusion in host. Harder to concentrate on complex work Memory Loss Neuritic plaques deposited on grey matter significantly impact memory and learning. Very hard to cure Apraxia Bruised tissue causes inability to execute certain movements. Reduces infectiousness but is extremely hard to cure Aneurysm Tendrils feed off blood vessels in the brain which causes aneurisms, can be lethal and hard to accurately diagnose Aphasia Bruised tissue causes language impairment. Makes developing a cure significantly harder Coma Mature Tendrils constrict the brain stem and cause a loss of consciousness in the host. Potentially fatal and significantly harder to cure Brain Haemorrhage Tendrils digest brain matter for nutrients causing complete degeneration and rupture of the cerebral tissue Adrenergic Constriction Beta-receptor blockers released, dampening anxiety in the host and lessening severity of allergic reactions to the worm Anxiolytic Infusion Mass synthesis of neurotransmitter, gamma-aminobutyric acid, significantly reduces anxiety in the host and minimises severity of reactions Psychosis Tendrils tweak dopamine receptors, inducing occasional states of psychosis and personality shifts to better accommodate worm Despair Altered serotonin levels impact mood regulation, induce feelings of despair in the host and lessen self preservation instinct Suicide Tendrils release neurotoxins which cause severe disorientation and suicidal impulses in the host Adoration Surges of testosterone and estrogone hijack host emotions and create desire to spread infection Devotion Surges of Dopamine and Serotonin compel the host to constantly think about the worm and triggers intense rushes of pleasure Transcendence Overdose of oxytocin and vasopressin forces host into a permanent state of worship / acceptance - treating the Neurax Worm as an eternal god 'Abilities' The Neurax Worm makes use of the unique ability 'Trojan Planes'. These planes will randomly generate as bubbles throughout gameplay in country that have been infected - appearing in the same fashion as DNA, Infection, and Cure bubbles - and from the Abilities section the player can purchase three stages of Trojan Planes with DNA points, each additional tier adding to the likelihood that a Trojan Plane bubble will generate. The bubble can then be dragged over the designated target country, resulting in the start of infections in said area. This ability is very useful for infecting hard to reach countries such as Greenland and Morocco.This ability still can be used even when the government closed down the airport or there is no airport present in the country. After the Trojan Plane ability has been taken, the player will then be able to purchase the abilities 'Trojan Roamers' and 'Trojan Destroyers', each having two stages with increasing severity. Trojan Roamers increase infectivity rates in the country they land in, while Trojan Destroyers aid lethality by causing aggressive and destructive behavior in the host arriving in the targeted area. Heat Resistance 1 Pathogen evolves to withstand hot temperatures and climates Heat Resistance 2 Pathogen avoids cellular breakdown in high temperatures. Increased effectiveness in hot climates Cold Resistance 1 Pathogen evolves to withstand cold temperatures and climates Cold Resistance 2 Lower intracellular water volume prevents freezing. Increased effectiveness in cold climates Environmental Hardening Pathogen develops hardened coating - becoming highly weather resistant and extremely comfortable in both hot and cold climates Drug Resistance 1 Pathogen becomes resistant to class 1 and 2 drugs. Increase effectiveness in wealthy countries Drug Resistance 2 Pathogen develops resistance to class 3 and 4 drugs. Increase effectiveness in wealthy countries Genetic Reshuffle 1 Pathogen DNA strands reassembled. More work needed to develop a cure Genetic Reshuffle 2 A new strain of the pathogen now exists, increasing the work needed to develop a cure Genetic Reshuffle 3 Multiple strains of the pathogen now exist, increasing the work needed to develop a cure Genetic Hardening 1 Pathogen becomes harder to analyse in the lab. Decreases future research speed Genetic Hardening 2 The pathogen does not reproduce in lab conditions. Decreases future research speed Trojan Planes 1 Manipulation of dopamine transporters results in a form of ADHD which encourages hosts to fly to a target country Trojan Planes 2 Pheromone secretion used to get more hosts to travel on planes to target countries Trojan Planes 3 Axillary steroids in humans used to bolster pheromone production, causing even more Trojan Planes Trojan Roamers 1 Adrenaline secretion in Trojan hosts causes them to travel more, increasing infectivity in target country Trojan Roamers 2 Adrenaline surges in Trojan hosts causes them to travel more, increasing infectivity in target country Trojan Destroyers 1 Testosterone secretion in Trojan hosts causes destructive and aggressive behavior in target country Trojan Destroyers 2 Testosterone surges in Trojan hosts causes destructive and aggressive behavior in target country Negative Attributes For this plague type, Transmission and Ability traits both increase severity and thus the likelihood of the disease being noticed and cure research beginning, even before actual symptoms are present. However, several Symptoms can be purchased to counter this that decrease severity and the chances of a host noticing the worm. This plague type requires quite a few DNA points to be spent in Symptoms before it can either kill or control the human population, so be sure to stock up once infection rates are steady. Also one of the symptoms 'Obsession' has two abilities that can either hinder or help the player. When the symptom is purchase a pop up will come stating that the Host will begin "to collect earthwoms" increasing infectivity rates for the player or "avoid parasitic worms" decreasing the infectivity rates. These effects, however, have normally little impact on the outcome of the game as Obsession is a very high tier symptom, becoming availible after the symptom 'Transcendence' is purchased. At this point most players will usually already be on the verge of winning and if not the effects, whether positive or negative, will do little to change that. Gallery Nworm_menu_icon.png|The flag in the main menu Worm@2x.png| emerges! (popup) Worm_bonus_icon_old.png|The unused Bonus icon Popup_worm_plane@2x.png|Trojan Plane (Popup) Airplane_worm.png|A plane targeting a country after using the Trojan plane ability Stages of Infectivity Brain_00_off@2x.png|Stage 1 Brain_01_off@2x.png|Stage 2 Brain_02_off@2x.png|Stage 3 Brain_03_off@2x.png|Stage 4 Brain_04_off@2x.png|Stage 5 Brain_05_off@2x.png|Stage 6 Brain_06_off@2x.png|Final Stage